This invention relates generally to the shielding of a protective lens used for vision protection, and more particularly, to the shielding of a lens of a protective goggle from vision-impairing accumulations of dust, mud, or other opaque materials.
Goggles are employed in a wide variety of activities for vision protection, and the type of goggle used generally varies in accordance with the activity, and the environmental conditions encountered. In some activities, the lens of the goggle is subjected to accumulations of vision-impairing materials, such as dust, mud or ice, that must be cleared from the lens of the goggle with a minimum of distraction to the wearer. For example, off-road motorcycle or bicycle racers frequently wear goggles while racing to avoid eye injuries stemming from the relatively large amount of mud or other debris that are thrown aloft from the track surface. As a result, mud, water or other debris frequently covers the lenses of the goggles, impairing the vision of the wearer. To remove the obscuring matter from the lens surface, the wearer generally uses a hand or a forearm to wipe a portion of the obscuring matter from the lens surface. A shortcoming inherent in this approach is that the lens may remain partially or even wholly obscured after wiping, and that the wearer""s attention is distracted from the activity during the wiping operation, which may seriously compromise the safety of the wearer.
In order to alleviate the shortcomings inherent in the practice of wiping the obscuring material from the lens surface of the goggles, a plurality of stacked transparent flexible sheets have been positioned in front of a conventional goggle lens. When sufficient debris covers the surface of an exposed transparent flexible sheet, so that vision is impaired, the sheet may be removed by the wearer to obtain a clean goggle surface. Examples of devices of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,044 to McGee, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,373 to Moretti, U.S. Pat. No. 4,138,746 to Bergmann, U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,687 to Johansson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,689 to Boyer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,065 to Kreissl, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,601 to McNeal. A significant disadvantage associated with the approach disclosed in the foregoing patents is that the number of superimposed transparent flexible sheets that may be positioned on the goggle is limited, since optical attenuation and distortion of the field of vision increases as the number of transparent sheets is increased. Accordingly, if the wearer is exposed to lens-occluding conditions for a protracted period of time, a sufficient number of transparent sheets may not be available to the wearer. An additional disadvantage associated with the approach disclosed in the foregoing patents is that the removed transparent flexible sheets are generally not retained by the user, and are discarded immediately following removal. As a result, the removed sheets may constitute a waste disposal problem in the area in which they are used. Additionally, in some environments, such as the above-described off-road race environment, or in other similar environments, the release of the removed sheets may constitute a safety hazard by inadvertently striking other participants following release of the removed sheet.
An additional solution to the problem of vision impairment resulting from accumulations of vision obscuring matter on the surface of a goggle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,428,081 and 4,528,701 Smith, which are incorporated by reference in the present application. Briefly, and in general terms, the Smith patents disclose a goggle assembly having a pair of rollers positioned on opposite sides of a goggle that support an elongated, rectangular-shaped length of a transparent film in front of a permanent goggle lens. When vision obscuring matter accumulates on the permanent lens and the transparent film in front of the lens, the user may advance the transparent film across the permanent lens surface to remove an obscured portion of the transparent film from the field of view of the wearer. A goggle 10 of the type disclosed in the Smith patents is shown in FIG. 1. The goggle 10 includes a frame 12 that is comprised of a resilient material that holds a semi-rigid, transparent lens 14. An elastic head strap 16 is attached to the frame 12 that permits the goggle 10 to be firmly secured onto the head of the wearer. Attached to the frame 12 and adjacent to one end of the lens 14 is a supply magazine 22 containing a roll (not shown) of transparent film 20 that is tightly wound onto a supply spool (not shown). The supply spool is installed in the supply magazine 22 by releasing the resilient catch 36 on the supply magazine cover 34. When the transparent film 20 is installed in the supply magazine 22, the film 20 extends from the supply magazine 22 across the surface of the lens 14 to a take up magazine 18, thus forming a protective surface across the surface of the lens 14. The take up magazine 18 has a take up spool (not shown) that is structured to receive the film 20 once it has become unusable. The take up magazine 18 has a take up magazine cover 30 that is attached to the take up magazine 18 by a resilient catch 32. The take up magazine also has a film advancing mechanism 24 with a knob 26 that is attached to a cord (shown in phantom outline) to manually advance a length of the transparent film 20 across the lens surface. The film advancing mechanism 24 is manually actuated by grasping and pulling the knob 26 in the direction 28 to advance a new length of transparent film 20 across the front surface of the lens 14.
Although the foregoing prior art device is a significant improvement over the other prior art devices previously discussed, the film transport means constitutes a shortcoming of the foregoing device. In particular, the take up spool must be lockably engaged to the film advancing mechanism 24 in order to apply a torque to the take up spool, thus tensioning the film 20 to remove the used portion of the film 20 from the surface of the lens 14, and to withdraw a new portion of the film 20 from the supply magazine 22. To date, the film advancing mechanisms 24 of the goggle 10 have used a variety of spool engagement means that has caused the take up spools to be generally not interchangeable between goggles of different model types. As a result, a user may inadvertently purchase the wrong spool for the user""s goggles, and sellers of the spools must stock several varieties of the spools.
The invention is directed towards an apparatus for mounting and retaining a protective film that shields the surface of a protective lens from vision-impairing accumulations of dust, mud, or other opaque materials. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a film retaining apparatus for use with a goggle with a renewable protective surface that offers increased film interchangeability. In one aspect of the invention, the apparatus is comprised of spool for retaining the protective film having a spool end that is adapted to engage a film advancing mechanism in a first group of goggles, and an opposing spool end adapted to engage a film advancing mechanism in a second group of goggles. In a further aspect, the spool ends are removably coupled to a center cylindrical spool portion that retains the film to advantageously permit various engagement configurations to be used.
FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a protective goggle with a renewable protective surface according to the prior art.
FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a transparent film assembly according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 3 is a partial isometric view of the transparent film assembly according to an embodiment of the invention being installed into a supply magazine.
FIG. 4 is a partial isometric view of the transparent film assembly according to an embodiment of the invention being installed into a different supply magazine.
FIG. 5 is a side view of a spool for retaining the transparent film according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 6 is an end view of a spool for retaining the transparent film according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 7 is an end view of a spool for retaining the transparent film according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 8 is a side view of a spool for retaining the transparent film according to another embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 9 is an isometric view of an engagement end for a spool according to still another embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 10 is an isometric view of an engagement end for a spool according to still another embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 11 is an isometric view of an engagement end for a spool according to a further embodiment of the invention.